The Mortal Kombat 1 pre-order beta went live for Xbox and PS5 players on Friday, bringing with it several new characters for players to try out as well as some powerful returning characters. The most famous of them to date seems to be Johnny Cage, who is winning over fans with his celebrity energy, big ensembles, and surprising sunglasses.
On the Mortal Kombat subreddit, one of the highest posts has a sad title, “This win cost me $500.” Li Mi is shown about to finish off Johnny, only for his sunglasses to flip in the air and hit her square in the face.
“It’s so much fun in beta, I tried all but didn’t expect Johnny to click so well,” the player wrote.
another topic title flowing, “Pranks, killer charmer, phone. Johnny is top notch!” It features a match highlight by Cage launching a powerful attack on Sub-Zero over chants of “Johnny, Johnny, Johnny”, at one point crushing him into the camera.
“As a major Johnny since the Mk1… first person to laugh, Cage is very good at this game,” one player wrote. “I miss the fireball, but everything else about it is golden [sic] Quick, press, the new shadow effects look so cool,[هس[sic] Perfection, every little detail, perfection. “
The Mortal Kombat favorite returns
Johnny Cage has been a series powerhouse since the original Mortal Kombat, modeled after then-star action hero Jean-Claude Van Damme. His complex biography includes being killed by Shao Kahn’s forces and being resurrected several times, at one point making a movie called The Death of Johnny Cage.
In Mortal Kombat 1, which features a rebooted universe by Liu Kang, Cage wields a sacred sword when he is recruited by the new Fire God.
Cage joins Kenshi, Kitana, Liu Kang, and Sub-Zero as well as Li Mei, who was revealed during San Diego Comic-Con. The pre-order beta also includes Sony’s Kameo, Blade, Kano, and Jax versions.
Since the beta launch on Friday, fans have had a lot of fun with the Johnny Cage experience. Noted fighting game player Sonicfox spotted a set of Cage’s 24 hits shortly after the beta went live.
Sonicfox just found a combined 24 hits in less than an hour from the MK1 beta
Mortal Kombat 1 will be 🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/X2Ss4kKNks– Hermann (@hermannphili) August 18, 2023
Other fans have been enjoying Johnny Cage’s gruesome slaying, which involves ripping off an opponent’s face and taking a selfie amid thousands of likes.
Omg Johnny Cage is a blast! I can’t stop smiling 🐲😎 # Mortal Kombat 1 pic.twitter.com/Hl52xo2T2F
– Mortal_Kombat_Addict | Daily deaths (MK_habit_addict) August 18, 2023
But mostly fans seem to love his public persona, which is the perfect blend of Hollywood arrogance and social media influencer flash.
Johnny Cage is crazy with hype lmfao pic.twitter.com/Kkjlv5ZS5m
– STB | TheKompetitor August 18, 2023
NetherRealm Studios has been steadily coming up with new characters since Mortal Kombat 1 was first announced earlier this year. There will be 24 Mortal Kombat 1 characters at launch, with six more characters added via DLC, including Peacemaker and Homelander.
We played Mortal Kombat 1 during Summer Game Fest, and we were suitably impressed. We also met Ed Boon, who answered all of our questions about the upcoming entry in the long-running series.
The Mortal Kombat 1 pre-order beta is scheduled to run from August 18th to August 21st. It will end on Monday at 8 am PT. It is available to those who pre-ordered the game. Mortal Kombat 1 is set to release on September 14th on Xbox, PS5, Switch, and PC.
Kat Bailey is IGN News Director and co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Do you have advice? Send her a direct message at the_katbot.
